so i met some friends a coffee shop in dallas and a photographer came up to me cause she wanted to take pictures of ava.... she said i could have some. I was a bit pissed cause I thought she wanted me to buy some and i was in the middle of being with some friends. She was nice and gave me her card and so i let her..... a few days later i got an email with some pics ( above are a few) and well i really liked her work and her website was amazing and now includes ava turns out she is world known and won lots of awards. So maybe when we are rich and get professional pics taken we will use her.

no time to blog is for sure

So We have just been so busy I don't even know where to start on this. I have not even been procrastinating because there is so much to catch up on here i really have not had a second. Where to start. Swim team is very busy ... I am loving it and excited about the dolphins this year. ava is walking. like yes really walking walking. first steps like a week and a half ago and now she is like off and running. my dad and step mom have separated which has been very emotionally draining and sad - my little brother and sister have moved with my step mom to PA for a while so it will be another trip to make just to see family and my dad is in NC but he is coming this weekend for a last min trip for fathers day. Rufus has ruined our expensive hard wood floors that we put in and will not stop shedding like i have to vacuum and mop multiple times a day just to get some of it up but i still love him sooooo much. he is a fabulous dog and settling in here nicely. and well i did it. i really really did it after so much trouble for the first 4 months plus.... i nursed ava for an entire year. no formula no bottle nothing (now that was not my goal and it will be different next time for my own sanity and having a longer leash) but she has been the healthiest happiest baby... so at 13 months i have st oped breastfeeding for an entire week and well she still does not drink milk but she has figured out the sippy cup and eats 4 - 6 yobaby plain yogurts a day so the pediatrician said that was fine for now and such a big change. I love cuddling her without nursing and she is much more into food and easier to get to sleep. so that is us... k is swamped with work and i am leaving for my first swim meet in 30 mins so i have to run. but hopefully i will be able to be better about updating.

feels like summer

So I got a job coaching a summer swim team .... Chandlers Landing Yacht and Tennis Club. It is 6 days a week for like 3 hours. I am so excited. I have coached a lot of swim team but I have never been this excited or enthusiastic I think it is because I have it is fun to have a job again and I enjoy it so it makes sense to leave Ava. They have a lot of work to do and I said it was 3 hours a day but that is pool time with the kids - there is tons more work to do from home but my lovely husband has been so supportive, encouraging and has made all my spreadsheets and rosters so I look way more on top of things than i otherwise would be.

P A R T Y

Ava's first birthday party was supposed to be a garden party themed bbq with special guest crazy aunt Ali but the rainy day made it a garden bowling party. thank god for Shenaniganz. There were about 35 people there and actually all the kids prolly had way more fun bowling and go carting. Ava was a little bit unsure of every thing at first but warmed up to it all with the help of home made cookies. She was not interested in the cupcakes (maybe it was the vegies on top... she just did not know they were icing) or cake really.... but carried the cookie around with her and got a kick out of the balloon tied to her tutu. I did not take many pictures cause i was busy but other people did so i will post more then.

ava birthday morning

wow dad.....
ahhh.... her own tunnel or two
this is what she woke up to...
already comfy in her new chair from grannie

Rufus is home

So Saturday at 12:30 Rufus joined our family. Two incredible people from Lone Star Lab who have been working closely with Rufus but not fostering brought him to our house. Rufus' story goes a bit like this. He was found on the side of the highway in a really bad thunder and lightning storm by a what Keegan calls a hippy dog lover. We know nothing about the person. But he was taken to a nearby shelter where a vet tech thought he was a great dog despite being heart worm positive. The Vet tech call Lone Star Lab to see if they would be able to help him out because heart worm treatment is intense and expensive. They said they would try but struggled finding a family to foster him during all his treatments. They were about to take him back to a shelter where he most likely would have been euthanized. However, a first time foster family decided to take on Rufus with the help and guidance of Lone Star Lab and their vets. And we are so glad they did. Rufus has been unable to get his heart rate up especially during the intense part of deworming. He is on the mend and through the tough part. He has one more less invasive treatment in two weeks and can be a little bit more active now although nothing like what he would like. But soon... soon soon he can run with me daily and chase tennis balls and we are going to try to make the rest of his life incredible.
Yesterday he arrived tale wagging. He came in the house and checked out the whole place. Ava watched eagerly -- she could not take her eyes off of him. As the afternoon went on Ava started climbing on Rufus and poked his eye and he sat there wagging his tail. She then sat on his head which made him get up and walk away but then she produced his new tennis ball and he came right back to her. Last night Ava was exhausted and went to bed early... and when Keegan and I got in bed Rufus decided to join us. He climbed right up and curled up in the corner at the bottom. He just wanted to be with us I think. We made him get off ( i know we are soooo mean) but he slept right next to the bed all night. This morning when Ava woke up I don't think she thought he would be here. I went to feed her like always in the early morning and she caught a glimpse of Rufus and wanted down instantly. Its funny we all kind of feel like he belongs we are just waiting for him to be 100% and be able to do everything with us. Even Keegan is falling in love.

Ava is turning one so soon

And for her birthday we have decided to get her a dog. Meet Rufus or that is what Lone star Lab Rescue called him and Keegan and I are still arguing over keeping his name. I think it is a great name. Keegan thinks its lame. Trying to decide if I care. Joking. Anyway. We have been looking at dogs for the past few months but this one seems really good. I can not deal with a puppy right now and a grown little more mellow dog might work better for us. You can read more about him at http://www.lonestarlabrescue.org/labs.aspx if you care. We are waiting for the vet to clear him from Heart Worm treatment on Friday and if the does then we could meet him for the " home study" on Saturday and possibly keep him for the weekend and see if he is indeed a good match. So hopefully if everything goes as we hope... Avas birthday might come a little early with crazy aunt ali's visit to follow on her actual birthday.